Method and apparatus for producing carbon black



Patented Sept.. t9, w24..

isolani ortica.'

CHUNCEY MATLOCK, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR- TO MONROE-LOUISIANA-CARBON COMPANY, OF MONROE LOUISIANA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

I METHOD Ani) APPARATUS ron rnonUcrNe CARBON BLAGX.

Application filed January To 'all whom it concern.'

Be it known that I, CHAUNCEY MATLOCK, residing, at 207 vPark Place,Brooklyn, county vof Kings, State of New York, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus forL Producing CarbonBlack, of which .I declare 'the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription. Y

This invention relates to the disassociation of the constituents ofhydrocarbons and particularly to the disassociation of ahydrocarbon gasand the collection and recovery of the 'elemental carbon therefrom.

The object of my invention generally is to obtain an improved quality ofcarbon -black from a hydrocarbon gas, for example natural gas, and torecover a larger proportion of the carbon constituent per unit volume ofgas than has-hitherto been possible with many.- known methods anddevices.

A further object` of my invention is a` method and an apparatus forproducing carbon blackwhereby the cost of installation and operation ofthe plant are redubed to a minimum and the eii'iciency of productiongenerally improved, the operation acording to this method beingcontinuous and'non-intermittent. v

. The method and apparatus generally used for producing. carbon black ona, commercial scale consists in partially burning the natural gas o rother hydrocarbon gas by means of a multiplicity of miniature vburnersand causing the individual flames or products of combustion to play uponchilled Asurfaces whereon a portion of the carbon content is depositedand Subse- 4.0 quently scraped'ofi. The vblack thus ob- \tained oftencontains metallic iron and scale, is accompanied by burned particles'ofcarbon and often contains other impurities and characteristics whichrender it unsuitable for certain of its uses. Moreover the apparatususually employed is crude and comparatively expensive to build and thecollecting deviceswear very rapidly, necessitating periodicreplacements. Further the usual commercial plants are cumbersome andoccupy large areas. Y i

'f Certain other methods have been sugtgested for the' manufacture ofcarbon black, but none of them appear to have reached 5, 1921.` serialNo. 435,074.

the practical or commercial stage of development.

- According to my improvements I produce j larger quantities o f carbonper unit volume.

of gas and in a more efficient and less expensive manner than ispossible with known methods and devices.

Generally stated, my improvements reside in the continuous partial orincomplete combustion of the hydrocarbon gas in a comparatively largefurnace by supplying to the furnace and to the gaseous flamepredetermined quantities of air which are insufficient for completecombustion, and the passing of the resultant products Vof combustion inthe manner hereinafter set forth, through a suitable collecting systemfor isolating the liberatedcarbon therefrom. The subject matter of theseimprovement-s has ,been incorporatedin various of my cepend- .f ingapplications, Serial N o. 435,068, Method and apparatus for producincarbon, Serial No. 435,069, Method an apparatus for producing carbon,and Serial No. 435,-

O Method and apparatus for producing carbon,. covering the process andapparatus broadlyyandPatent No. 1,438,542, Process and apparatus forproducing carbon black, the present invention being an im rovement overthe subject matter of the a ove men tioned ,applications and patent.

I have found that the quality and yield of carbon are substantiallyimproved by a careful and accurate adjustment of the mixture ofair(oxygen containing agent) and gas supplied to the furnace, andparticularly-by the manner in which the mixture is accomplished. Forexample, the admission of the air into thel furnace beneath the burnersgives good results, particularly when the air is automatically suppliedin regulated uantities and at predetermined pressures f-preferably onlyslightly above atmospheric).

I have also found that the rapid exhaust of the productsv from thefurnace and through the collecting system, and the maintenancefof anaccurate balance throughout tend toward greater yield and more :eni-

sof

cient operation. To end Ijlregulate the n ing them to the desired ppressure.

conditions within the furnace and the pres` sure and velocitiesthroughout the collecting system in the novel manner hereinafter setforth. l u

l also obtain an improved quality of carbon and increase the eliciencyof separation by lowering the dew point of the lhotJ products beforetheyl reach the collector. For example, ll may introduce dry air intothe stream of products of combustion and thereby dilute the' mixturecontaining the water vapor before it is subjected to the carbonisolation operation, a drier carbon product being thereby obtained. rlheadmission of cold air (for'example atmospheric) serves the doublepurpose of lowering the dew point of thegases' and cooldegree beforetheyl reach the collector. Y

'llhis application is directed more particularly to methods and devicestending toward these ends as .applied to the vincomplete combustion ofthe gas and separation of the carbon as aforesaid. l prefer also toemploy these methods and devices in con-v nection with certain other ofmy improvements in the manufacture of carbon as will ap earhereinafter.-

n the practice of my invention ll have devised afurnace with aibatteryof comparatively large burners or gas intakes with their mouths openinginto the furnace at .points a short distance from the bottom of vthechamber, and with an air intake or intakes disposed below the level ofthe burners. 'lhe hydrocarbon gas issuing from the gas intakes isycaused to burn very slowly and lazily by supplying theretopredetermined quantities of air, but insufficient to produce. completecombustion, the gas being supplied at a pressurel abovme atmosphere andthe burning taking place at the desired Means are provided forregulating .the pressure and the volume of the gas supplied to theburners and for automatically regulating and supplying the exact uantityof air required to the lfurnace.

referably this means consis-ts of a rotary fan or blower as it iseasilyregulated and good results have been obtained therewith. Provisionis. made for the rapid exhaust of the resulting products and gasesthrough a restricted outlet near the top of the furnace,

preferably consisting essentially of an exhauste'r at the furnaceoutlet. The hot products with the liberated carbon are forced by thisexhauster through acooling system or circuit of restricted dimensionsfor reducing the temperature, and thence to a collector where the carbonis separated from the' other constituents. rllhe collector is preferablyeither of the electrical precipitation type or of the closed bagfiltration type. fan or blower together with an .exhaustregulator isalso `disposed at'the collector outlet for the openin incase? thepurpose of assisting the controlling devices to maintain the naturaldraft of the products of combustion and to impart thereto the requiredvelocity through the restricted passages of the cooling system. By meansof these devices the exact operating conditions throughout the systemmay be adjusted land controlled with the required facility for etlicientoperation. The hot gases with the liberated carbon in suspension aredrawn through the conduits at suficient Velocity to carry alongtherewith the greater portion of any llocculent carbon which may beprecipitated in the cooling pipes, and substantially the whole of theliberated carbgii which leaves the .furnace withthe gases is borne tothe collector and thence recovered. I

rlhe advantages of my improved method and apparatus will more fullyappear from the following detail description and the accompanyingdrawings, the latter being dia- "grammatic illustrations of the systemand apparatus 'according to certain modifications, wherein- Figurel is adiagrammatic drawing of a system e bodying my improvements, and Figureymis an illustration of a modified form of collector. Y

Referring to these drawings l have illustrated in section a furnace l,this furnace being of large or generous dimensions as compared withcertain of the other elements of the apparatus. rlihere are provided anumber of burners 2 (only two; being illustrated) which are suppliedwith a hydrocarbon gas, for example natural gas, through a supply pipe 3leading to a gas main Ll. A valve 5 .is indicated for controlling thegas circuit and preferably the circuit is provided with a gas pressureregulator (not illustrated) for the purpose of supplying gas at asubstantially uniform and constant pressure. The furnace is preferablysealed against the entrance ofl air or other oxygen containing agentexcept through an air opening 6 through which the air may be admittedvat a point below'the level vof the burners 2. A rotary fan or blower 7is provided for positively supplying a predetermined and regulatedquantity of air through 6 and down below the burners llO 2. A regu ator8 is provided for adjusting the size of the opening 6 and therebyenabling cooperation with the blower for effecting accurate control ofthe quantity of air supplied. This regulator may be of any conventionalform, but is illustrated as of the shutter type by which means the airopening may be adjusted 'to the required area to give the exact quantityof air at atmospheric pressure desired.Y llt is noted that the burners 2are disposed near the bottom of the furnace and that the air opening 6is disposed slightly' below the level been found to give good results.It is understood, however, that this arrangement may be varied in someres ects without dcparting from the spirit o the invention.

Near the'top of the furnace 1 there is provided a restricted outlet 9which leads to a cooling circuit or systeml 10. From the cooling s stem10 the furnace outlet leads to a co lector-12. The coolingV systemconsists of a pipe of restricted dimensions as compared to the volumelof the .furnace and a water spray system 13 which may continuously spracold water upon the cooling pipes 10 for t e purpose of reducing thetemperature of the products of combust-ion passing therethrough. Thedegree of cooling may be regulated by adjusting. the' supply of water tothe spraying system as for instance by means of a valve 14 in the watermain. The-cooling pipes 10 are observed to slightly diminish v1ncross/section from thel front to the rearmost end.

This reduction in cross section 'may be made because the productsofcombustiony may be reduced in volume as they are cooled by contactwith the cooling pipes. The resulting increase in density of the gasespassing through the cooling and collector system promo-tes the' eicientseparation of the carbon from the other gases. l

For insuring the rapid exhaust of the products from the furnaceandvthrough the collecting system, there is provided a suction blower 15between the outlet 9 and the'cirl cuit 10. This suction blower` may beregirlated and adjusted to impart the required velocity to the productsand thereby insure ythe rapid exhaust from the' furnace.l

The pipe 10 is provided with a section c16 the latter havingperforations 17 therein for the admission of atmospheric air. Thequantitylof air admitted may -be controlled by the sleeve 1,8surrounding the section 16,

' trated, collector 12 being of the ba@ iltra' the formen beinglongitudinally adjustable along the section.

Two different types-of collectors are illustion type and collector 121(Fig. 2 being of the electrical precipitation type. The collector 12consists generally of a container,4

preferably of cylindrical shape, with ithe hopper 19 on the/lower partforz collecting the carbon as it fallsvby gravity oriis caused te fallfrom the liltrati'on bags. 'Ehe filtrationl bags are indicateddiagrammatically at 20 whose open ends register `with the openings 21 inthe partition plate 22 -carried bythe container. The bags (only :"'twoof which are shown) mav bescarried in any suitable manner and means maybe' rovided, if desired, fori agitating or sha ing the bags to loosenthe carbon collected thereby. I have illustrated a novel chainarrangement. for loosening the carbon. The

through a conduit 27. There is disposed within this conduit a regulatingvalve 28 whereby the exhaust or draft pressure may be regulated oradjusted to a nicety.

The operation of the system may be described substantially as follows:

The natural gas having been turnedpn (at a pressure above that of theatmosphere)J the burners are lighted and the air regulator 8 and blower7 'adjusted to supply positively the exact quantity of air desired forthe most efficient operation of the system and the products ofvcombustion resulting .from the incomplete combustion of the natural gasgradually accumulate in the furnace nntil the upper part thereof viscompletelyl illed with the gases and the liberated carbon in suspension.The main gate 30 in the circuit being open the products of combustionwithv the suspended liberated carbon are exhausted through suctionfan\15 and caused Jto circulate through the cooling system 10. Thesuction fan 26 together with its regulating valve 28 (and also thesuction fan 15) are adjusted to give an exhaust pressure and velocitysuiiicient to carry the products of combustion together ivitli' thesuspended 'carbon through the restricted cooling system and through thefiltration bags of the collector. The velocity in the cooling circuit issuch that the greater portion of flocculent carbon which is precipitatedor becomes deposited upon the inner walls of the cooling circuit iscarried along with the main stream of products of combustion into thecollector" so that the greater portion of the liberated carbon whichleaves the furnace through the outlet 9 actually reaches the collectorand is there `filtered out and deposited into the hopper 19the cleansedgases pass out through a conduit 27 and the blower `26.. I have -found.that the bag collectors opera'te very eiiently to filter out the.l1berated carbon `idthat they work partlcularly well attemperatures below 225f F.

-I have also found that .with `the 'proper\1 adjustment .of'gthe gas andair supplied to the furnace the'system including the careful adjustmentnd with a proper balance of of the exhaust pressure and the degree ofcooling that the carbon black recovered in the hopper 19 is aparticularly desirable. commercial product and is freefrom the abovenoted injurious constituents and undesirable qualities; moreover theyield of carbon per unit of gas is found to be greater than the yield ofcarbon produced by many known methods and devices. l

These results are noticeable to a certain degree under variousconditions of .operation, but are particularly marked with temperaturesin the furnace .running above 1200o F. F or example, with temperaturesin the furnace of 14000 F. to l800 F. (as measured by pyromcter 3l), andwith'careful adjustment of the air admitted into the furnace, both theyield and quality of carbon produced are good. It is also observed thatwith an adjustment such that the products of combustion and intermixedgases are all retained above the level of the burners 2, the vyield andquality are good. For example, as indicated in Figure l, there seemsunder certain conditions to be a clear and defined dividing line orblanket 32 between the gases 33 aboveand the Vair below this line, andthe air entering the ,furnace and collecting beneath this blanket isprobably preheated to a certain degree before it enters the combustionand disassociation space. This balance may be established and maintainedby preferably adjusting the three blowers which are preferably ofdierent capacitiesthe blower 7 `being the largest and the suction fan 15beingrintermediate withthe gaseous products and lowers the de w pointthereof. llf the admitted air is cool it will have a cooling functionalso.

lhave also found that the electrical prev, cipitatgr lc ooperatedwto.et/particular degree with otherPParatu'W/M yield lof-fcarbon per unfitof gas, although l nowprefer for certain reasons the bag il- Vtrationsystem. f

For' the .purposefof .relieving Lthe furnace- 1 ofthe 'products' ofcombustion or Vfor otherreasons an outlet 34 is provided and visdisposed near the top of the furnace, a

door 35 being positioned'upon the upper endof the pipe 34cfort;"fpurpose of openingior" closing the same." f

to' produce a large incase? recovering carbon black l from a hydrocarbongas, the combination of a furnace together with gas burners adapted toreceive and partially burn thegas by the supply thereto of air inquantities` insuf ficient for complete combustion, means for supplyingto said furnace and burners predetermined quantities of air or otheronygen containing agent, a cooling and collecting system for receivingthe resultant products, and exhausting means disposed between thefurnace and the cooler for rapidly exhausting the products of combustionfrom the furnace.

2. ln an apparatus for separating and recovering carbon black from ahydrocarbon, the combination of a furnace together with burners adaptedto receive and partially burn the hydrocarbon by the supjply theretoofair in quantities insuiiicient for complete combustion, means forsupplying the hydrocarbon to said burners,

' means for positively furnishing to said lburners and said furnacepredetermined quantities of air, a collecting system wherein theresultant products are passed at a cornparatively high velocity, and an.exhauster disposed between the furnace and the cooler for the purposeset forth.

3. ln an apparatus for separating andrecovering carbon black from ahydrocarbon, the combination of al burner for receiving the hydrocarbonand partially burning the same, a `device for supplylng a predeterminedproportion of air to the burners, means Vfor cooling the resultantproducts and isolating the liberated carbon content, andan exhausterdisposed between the furnace and the cooler for rapidly removing theproducts from the furnacem 4. lin an apparatus for separating andrecovering carbon from a hydrocarbon gas, the combination of -Ia furnaceand burners ladapted to receive` and artially burn the gas, a rotaryblower an regulating means for .supplying to the furnace and to theburners predetermined quantities and proportions'v of air, a collectingsystem for receiving the resuling products of combustion from thefurnacer and isolating the liberated carbon therefrom, an exhausterbetween the furnace and the collector, and a second exhauster disposedat the outlet of the collector for the purpose set forth.

5. In an apparatus for separating and recovering carbon black from ahydrocarbon gas, the combination of a burner adapted to receive andpartially'burn the gas, a rotary blower and regulating lmeans forsupplying to said burner predetermined proportions and quantities of airof less moisture content, a cooling and collecting system for receivingthe resulting products of combustion from the furnace and isolating theliberated carbon therefrom, an exhauster between the collector and thefurnace for rapidly exhausting the products and a second exhausterdisposed at the collector outlet for the purpose set forth.

6. In an apparatus for separating and recovering carbon black from ahydrocarbon gas, the combination of a furnace with burners in the lowerportion thereof for receiving and partially burning the gas, a rotaryblower for' supplying predetermined proportions and quantities of air tos aid furnace at a point or points below the level of said burners, andmeans for subjecting the resulting products of combustion to a carbonisolating. process', comprising means for rapidly exhausting theproducts from the furnace, means for cooling the gases, a collector andan exhauster for rapidly exhausting the cleansedl products from thecollector.

7 In an apparatus for separating and recovering carbon black from ahydrocarbon gas, the combination of a furnace of comparatively largedimensions with burners disposed in the lower part thereof, a rotaryblower with regulating meansadapted to supply predetermined quantitiesand proportions of air to said furnace at a point or points below thelevel of the burners, and a collecting system adapted to receive theproducts of combustion and isolate the liberated carbon therefromcomprising an exhauster for rapidly exhausting the products from thefurnace, a cooler, a collector and av second exhauster for exhaustingthe cleansed gases from the collector.

establishing the circulation of the products of combustion `from 4thefurnace and A through thecooling and collecting system comprisingexhauster disposed between the furnace and 4the cooler and an exhausterdisposed atfthe collector outlet. f). The method of separating andrecovering carbon from a hydrocarbon, which consists in partiallyburning the hydrocarbon by supplying thereto oxygen in quantitiesinsuficient for complete combustion, 4lowering the dew point of theresultant products of combustion and finally subjecting the saine to acarbon isolating operation. -IO. The method of separating and recoveringvcarbon from a hydrocarbon, which consists in partially burningthelhydrocarbon by supplying thereto an'l oxidizing agent in quantitiesinsufficient for complete combustion, lowering the dew point of andcooling the resultant products .of combustion, and finally subjectingthe resultant products to a carbon isolating operation. 11. The methodof separating and recovering carbon froma hydrocarbon,l which consistsin partially burning the hydrocarbon. by supplying thereto air inquantities insufficient for-complete combustion, diluting the resultantproducts o f combustion with a comparatively dry gas, and finallysubjecting the products to a carbon isolating operation.

12. The method of separating and recovering carbon from a hydrocarbon,which consists in partially burning the hydrocarbonV by supplyingthereto air in quantities insufficient for complete combustion, dilutingthe resultant products of combustion by admitting air of less moisturecontent thereto, and finally subjecting the products to a carbonisolating operation.

13. The method of separating and recovering carbon from a hydrocarbon,which conslsts in partially burning the hydrocarw bon under conditionsresulting in the liberation of a portion of the carbon content, diluting.the resultant products by supplying dry air thereto, and finallysubjecting the resultant products to a carbon isolating operation. a v

14. The method of separating and recovering carbon from a hydrocarbon.which conslsts in partially burning the hydrocarbon under conditionsresulting in-the liberation of -a `portion of the carbon content,Ilowering the dew point of the resultant prod-l ucts by diluting thesamef with a comparatively dry gas, cooling the resultant products, andfinally subjecting the same to a carbon isolating operation.

15. The method of separating and -recovering carbon from ahydrocarbonfwhich consists in partially burning the hydrocarbon underconditions resulting in the liberation of a portion of the carboncontent, mixing with theresultantproducts cold air for the purpose setforth, andfinallyv subjecting the same to av carbon isolating operation.y

16. The method of separating and recovering carbon from a hydrocarbon,which consists in partially burning the hydrocar- .bon under conditionsresulting in the liberation of a portion of the carbon content, mixingwith the resultant products cold air, reducing the temperature of theproducts, and finally subjectingthe same .to acarbon isolatin operation.

17. T e method of separating and recovverin carbon from a hydrocarbon,which consists in partially burning vthe hydrocarbon under conditionsresulting in the liberation of a portion of the carbon content, passingthe resultant products ata comparatively high velocity and diluting-them with a relatively Vdry gas for the purpose of lowering the'dewpoint thereof, cooling the resultant products, and finally subjectingthe sam to a carbon isolating operation.

18. rlhe method of separating and -re- 'covering carbon from ahydrocarbon, which consists yin partially burning the' hydro-j carbon ina closed chamber by positively supplying theretcair at predeterminedpressures and in quantities insufficient for com-4 plete combustion,rapidly exhausting the products of-combustion from the chamberl by meansof a suction-exhauster disposed at finally positively exhausting theproductsfrom the collector through the medium of an 50 exhausterdisposed at the collector outlet.v 20. Ina system for separating andrecovering carbon from a hydrocarbon, the

combination o f a furnace and a collector incase? the furnace in.predetermined quantities, an exhauster for rapidly .exhaustingtheproducts from the furnace disposed at thefurnace outlet, anda secondexhauste'r disposed at the collector outlet.

21. In' a system for separating and recovering carbon 'from ahydrocarbon, the combination of a furnace and a collector with threebalancing gaspropellors, the first supplying air in regulated quantitiesto the furnace, the second being disposed between the furnace and thecollector and adapted to rapidly withdraw vthe products .from thefurnace, and the third being disposed at the collector outlet andadapted to rapidly withdraw the cleansed products from the collector,the second propellor.- being intermediate in capacity between the othertwo, and the third propellor being the largest of' the three.

22. A methnd of forming and recovering Vwith a rotary blower forsupplying air to carbon which comprises partially oxidizing ahydrocarbon with air in quantity insufhcient for complete combustion,lowering the proportion of 'condensible vapors in the gaseous productsformed and separating the carbon particles there-from.

23. A method of forming and recovering carbon whichcomprises partiallyoxidizing hydro carbons and forming free carbon in the gaseousproducts-of said partial oxidizetion, reducing the vapor tension yofcondensible products in said gaseous products of combustion withoutcondensation and recovering the carbon from the resulting gases.

24. rllhe method of separating and recovering carbon from a hydrocarbon,which consists in partially burning the hydrocar- `bonin a closedchamber by positively supplying-thereto air at regulated pressures andquantities insutlicient for complete combustion, rapidly exhausting theproducts of' combustion from the chamber by means of an exhauster disosed at the furnace outlet, passing the resu tant products to acollector andrapidly exhausting the-products of combustionfrom thecollector by means of an exhauster associated therewith;

,lin testimonywhereof, ltaftix my signature. Y Y L CHAUNCEY MATLGK.

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